'This was a set up': Arizona Republicans mad after being linked to Nick Fuentes event

An event featuring white nationalist Nick Fuentes drew the ire of GOP officials and county Republican parties who said that they were not consulted before their names were listed as speakers and supporters on a flier promoting the event.

And one of the scheduled speakers said the organizers flat out lied to her about what the event was to get her initial buy-in.

The event, an annual convention for far-right College Republicans United groups that is being organized by Arizona State University’s chapter, is happening later this month in Prescott. College Republicans United is known for its support of Fuentes and for hosting white nationalist speakers in the past.

“The (Maricopa County Republican Committee)] never authorized, sponsored, or promoted the upcoming July 30 College Republicans United convention,” the Maricopa County Republican Committee said in a statement on Twitter. “Any placement of ‘MCRC’ or ‘Maricopa GOP’ etc on anything associated with the CRU event is unauthorized. Thank you.”

Similarly, the Pima County Republican Party released a statement saying that it never “authorized nor agreed to sponsor or promote” the event.

Fuentes is a white nationalist Holocaust-denier who routinely makes antisemitic remarks, has said that Blacks in the South were better off under Jim Crow and has said that he “loves Hitler.” Fuentes is also the self-styled leader of the “Groyper army,” who are largely followers of Fuentes and white nationalist Patrick Casey, and who attack conservatives they feel are not far right enough.

The supposed involvement of the Maricopa, Pima and Yavapai Republican parties came to light Monday morning after Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer publicized the CRU flier on Twitter. Within hours, Republican officials began claiming that the county GOP committees weren’t involved with the event. By the afternoon, both the Maricopa and Pima parties had issued formal statements; Yavapai had not done so before this story was published.

“The GOP Committees I have spoken to were surprised to hear it,” Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, said on Twitter about the event and the involvement of the three county parties. “Whoever is doing this should be treated as a saboteur!”

Along with Fuentes, other extremists are listed to speak, including Ryan Sanchez, who sometimes goes by the moniker “Culture War Criminal.” Sanchez is formerly a member of the Rise Above Movement, a Neo-Nazi fight club whose members have faced federal charges for political violence.

“This was a set up,” Pima County GOP Chairman Dave Smith told the Mirror.

Smith said that ASU CRU’s Founder Rick Thomas approached Anastasia Tsatsakis, the party’s 2nd vice chairman, at an event and asked if the county party would speak at a “college republicans” event.

They agreed and ASU CRU later followed up with an email sending a flier that did not list Fuentes or Pima GOP as a sponsor.

“We just thought she was going to be a speaker at a Republican conference,” Smith said. “We were misrepresented to and lied to.”

Smith said that the ordeal has caught him “off guard” and created new ways that the county committees will be communicating in the future. That sentiment was echoed by Tsatsakis, who was listed as a speaker at the event representing the Pima County GOP.

“This particular activity and behavior where you are sabotaged and set up is completely indescribable to me,” Tsatsakis said. “We do not participate in any antisemitic anything. This is horrible and, had we known, we would’ve never committed.”

One of the main goals of Fuentes’ groyper movement is to push conservatives in a further right direction by mainstreaming their ideals into conservative politics, often by bullying or coercion.

In response to the Mirror’s inquiry, ASU CRU said that the three county committees agreed to speak at the event.

“All three counties we asked agreed. Fuentes was added late in the scheduling process due to last minute dropouts and program changes,” the group said in an email to the Mirror. “Announcement was made late Friday night, they didn’t react until Monday morning.”

At least one speaker has come out saying they are no longer sure about speaking after learning about Fuentes being a part of the event.

“When I agreed to speak at the AZ College Republicans United event I was not aware that I’d be sharing the stage with someone who wants a 16 year old wife,” Jacob Angeli-Chansley, also known as the Q Shaman, said on Twitter, posting a link to a clip of Fuentes saying he wants to find himself a 16-year-old bride. “Should I back out? Or should I do the event & blow this schmuck out of the water & expose a false prophet?”

The Mirror also reached out to Fuentes but did not receive a response.

The Hassayampa Inn, where the event was scheduled to take place, said in an email to the Mirror that ASU CRU booked the space for a “college student awards ceremony” but that the event will no longer be held in the hotel.

A Jewish Republican group denounced the event and said there is no truth to CRU’s claim that any official GOP party entities in Arizona are involved.

“The [Republican Jewish Committee], coordinating investigative efforts with state elected officials and party chairmen, has ascertained that this suggestion was completely baseless,” the RJC said in a statement about the event. “No official Republican organization is supporting this event in any way.”

“Nick Fuentes is a vile Nazi-sympathizer who has no place in Conservative or Republican politics. His values are antithetical to the platform of the GOP,” said RJC Arizona Chapter Co-Chairs Adam and Orit Kwasman.

And Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which was listed under the “Guest Speakers & Supporters,” also confirmed that it was not affiliated with the event.

“SBA Pro-Life America confirms that we never agreed to be a sponsor of this conference, that is an error that is being corrected,” SBA Pro-Life spokeswoman Mary Owens said in a statement to the Mirror.

Other speakers listed, such as former Republican lawmakers Liz Harris and John Fillmore, did not respond to requests for comment on if they will be attending the event. Another former GOP legislator, David Stringer, is listed as sponsoring the event with his news website Prescott E-News. Stringer attended a previous event put on by the group with known white nationalist Jared Taylor who is also published on the site.

ASU CRU leadership was also shown to share homophobic, racist and antisemitic views in leaked chats provided to the Phoenix New Times.

“ASU is a public educational institution that is committed to free, robust and uninhibited sharing of ideas among all members of the University’s community,” ASU said in a statement to the Mirror. “ASU values the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which provides the right to free speech.”